Shoemaking methods



Aug. 26, 1969 K, D.REEVER ETAL 3,462,782

snommxme METHODS Filed Dec. 22. 1967 24 4 15 Wm [2 10 /5 a M fnven furs Karl D. Reeve-r SumnerHBoynlon Robert DBerry By their Azfarney United States Patent US. Cl. 12142 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A method for the construction of a shoe for display purposes comprising the permanent affixing of an insole and a lasted upper to a footform, securing a midsole to the overlasted margin of the upper, securing an outsole to the midsole, the outsole having an extension providing an upperfacing surface of the said outsole extending outwardly from the edge of the midsole, and affixing a welt member to the upper surface of the outsole, the welt being of varythicknesses as desired to establish the biteline of a mold assembly subsequently to be made from the display shoe to reproduce the sole of the display shoe by injection molding.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to shoemaking and is directed more particularly to a process for making a display shoe from which a mold assembly may subsequently be made to reproduce the sole of the display shoe by injection molding.

Description of the prior art It is common practice among shoe sole mold manufacturers to accept specifications from a customer and from them to make a mold assembly for the injection molding of soles. The completed mold assembly is then used to mold a sole onto a lasted upper and the completed shoe including the molded-on sole is shown to the customer to determine if the mold assembly meets with his approval. Often as not, the shoe does not fulfill the customers expectations in every way and the mold assembly must be made again or at least altered, depending upon the severity of the short-comings of the completed shoe. Inasmuch as mold making costs are exceedingly high, such trial and error methods are extremely expensive and often extensively time-consuming.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of making a display shoe from which a mold assembly may subsequently be made in order to reproduce the sole and heel of the shoe by injection molding.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a method of making a display shoe which is susceptible to relatively inexpensive alterations in order to satisfy a customers desires quickly and cheaply.

With the above and other objects in view, as will hereinafter appear, the present invention contemplates as a feature thereof the provision of a method for making a display shoe comprising securing an insole to a footform, lasting an upper onto the last and insole, attaching a midsole to the overlasted margin of the upper, attaching an outsole to the bottom surface of the midsole, the outsole having an extension providing an upper-facing surface, and attaching a welt strip to the upper-facing surface of the outsole extension, the inner edge of the welt strip contacting the upper, the welt strip being selectively variable in thickness whereby to locate the proper disposition of a sole mold assembly biteline, and the sole and heel and welt member being readily reducible and susceptible to enlarging, whereby to readily change the appearance of the shoe with a minimum of expense.

3,462,782 Patented Aug. 26, 1969 The above and other features of the invention, including various novel details of construction and combinations of parts, will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims. It will be understood that the particular device embodying the invention is shown by way of illustration only and not as a limitation of the invention. The principles and features of this invention may be employed in various and numerous embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.

Brief description of the drawing Reference is made to the accompanying drawing in which there is shown an illustrative embodiment of the invention from which its novel features and advantages will be apparent.

FIG. 1 is a widthwise partial sectional view of one form of display shoe illustrative of an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of a completed display shoe.

Description of the preferred embodiment The shoe making method of the present invention will now be fully described with reference to the drawing. To the bottom of a footform or last 2 there is attached, as by adhesive, an insole 4. A footwear upper 6 is then flatlasted onto the footform and insole, over-lasted marginal portions 8 of the upper 6 being cemented or otherwise affixed to the bottom surface of the insole 4. A filler material 10 is then introduced into the area bounded by the insole and the edges of the over-lasted upper marginal portions 8. The over-lasted marginal portions 8 may then be roughened by suitable means in order to receive an adhesively attached midsole 12 which may be of any appropriate material but preferably of rubber or cork. The midsole 12 is of substantially the same shape as the insole 4 and is cemented to the upper 6 substantially in alignment with the insole 4.

An outsole 14, of any suitable material but preferably of rubber or cork, is then attached to the midsole, as by adhesive. The outsole 14 is somewhat over-sized, whereby to provide a sizeable extension 16 which protrudes well beyond the upper except in the heel area. The extension edge 18 of the outsole is then trimmed so that the edge 18 is substantially parallel to a side wall 19 of the heel 21 of the shoe (FIG. 2). The outsole extension upper-facing surface 20 is then trimmed to planes parallel to the plane of the bottom of the heel (FIG. 1). The midsole portion 12 and the outsole portion 14 of the shoe bottom may be one integral unit, if desired.

A welt member 22 is then cemented to the outsole extension upper-facing surface 20 and abuts the upper 6 and the midsole 12. The peripheral edge 24 of the welt member 22 is trimmed so that the welt edge 24 and the outsole extension edge 18 are in alignment and are substantially parallel to the side wall of the heel 21. The welt 22 may be of leather or any other suitable material and may be built up or reduced in thickness so as to locate the line 26 where the welt joins the upper, and therefore the biteline of a mold assembly to reproduce the sole, as desired. It will be appreciated that in subsequent mold making for the purpose of injection molding soles onto lasted uppers, the biteline is that area on the upper which is engaged by the side mold members prior to the injection operation. In order to assure that the biteline is properly located the welt strip 22 is selectively reduced in thickness and/0r built up by the addition of more welt stripping which is cemented to the first strip 22 and is then trimmed and blended into the welt strip 22 to form a smooth sole edge and a continuous uninterrupted upper-facing surface.

The outsole 14 is then shaped, as by sanding or filing or otherwise reducing as appropriate, and then coated with several coats of lacquer. Inasmuch as the outsole is generally constructed of rubber or cork, it is susceptible to rapid and relatively inexpensive working, whether it be reducing or the adding of additional layers of rubber or cork.

A shoe, constructed according to the procedure above described, may then be shown to a shoe manufacturer in order to see if it is the sort of shoe that he would like to have produced by injection molding. If the shape of the sole does not meet with his approval, the sole may be filed down according to the manufacturers desires in a very short period of time, and re-lacquered, for immediate presentation to the manufacturer in its altered form. Building up of the sole requires little more time, it being necessary only to add additional layers of material where needed and then smoothing the surface affected prior to lacquering. In the event the biteline is not approved, this, too, may be readily altered in short by the building up or reduction of the welt member 22.

Once the manufacturer is satisfied with the display shoe, an injection sole molding assembly may be made, using the display shoe as a guide, and shipped to the manufacturer without the probability of the manufacturers being displeased with the appearance of the shoes produced in the molds. Accordingly, all of the mold alteration and modification expense, necessary under previous procedures, has been eliminated.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Shoemaking method comprising the steps of permanently attaching insole means to a footform by applying interengaging means between the footform and insole means, lasting an upper on said footform, securing a sole to said upper, the sole having a peripheral extension beyond said upper, and securing to an upper-facing surface of said extension a welt member, the welt member abutting said upper.

2. The invention according to claim 1 in which said welt member is of selectively varying thickness whereby to establish selectively a line at which the upper-facing surface of the welt member abuts the upper.

3. Shoemaking method comprising the steps of securing insole means to a footform, lasting an upper on said footform and said insole means whereby to provide overlasted upper marginal portions on the bottom surface of the insole means, securing a midsole portion of a shoe bottom to the marginal portion of said upper, a peripheral edge of the midsole portion being exposed, providing an outsole portion of the shoe bottom on the shoe bottom side of said midsole portion, the outsole portion having an extension beyond the periphery of the midsole portion, the extension having an upper-facing surface adjacent the exposed edge of said midsole portion, and securing to said extension upper facing surface a welt member, said welt member abutting said upper and said midsole edge.

4. The invention according to claim 3 in which said welt member is of selectively varying thickness whereby to establish selectively a line at which the upper-facing surface of the welt member abuts the upper.

5. The invention according to claim 3 in which said shoe bottom includes a heel portion and in which the upper-facing surface of the extension is trimmed to planes parallel to the plane of a bottom surface of the heel portion before the welt member is secured to said extension.

6. Shoemaking method comprising the steps of securing insole means to a footform, lasting an upper on said footform, securing a sole and heel to said upper, the sole having a peripheral extension beyond said upper, trimming an upper-facing surface of said extension to planes parallel with the plane of a bottom surface of said heel, and securing to said upper-facing extension surface a welt member, the welt member abutting the upper.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/ 1940 Dudenhofen. 1/ 1944 Stritter.

PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner 

